Gang mold



Nov. 4, 1941. A. HENDERSON 2,261,736

l GANGMOLD Filed Aug. 21, 1959 i 3 Sheets-Sheet l 2 2 I INVEN-roR AZ bert Hemd ens on Nov. 4, 1941. A. HENDERSON GANG MOLD 3 Sheets-Sheet 2Filed Aug. 21, 1939 /lNvl-:NTR Alb et .Henderson Nov. 4, A1941. A.HENDERSON Y 2,261,736

GANG MOLD l Filed Aug. 2l, 1959 5 Sheets-Sheet 3 INVENTOR l AlbertHenderson Patented Nov. 4, 1941 UNITED STATES @Per orricr.A

2,261,736 GANG MoLp Albert Henderson, Pittsburgh, Pa., assignor toWilliam P. Witherow, Pittsburgh, Pa.

appiicauen August 21,1939, serial Nmzeriaz claims.r (ci. 25-121) Thisinvention relates to the manufacture fof concrete articles such asblocks, or the like, and particularly to a method and apparatus wherebysuch articles may be manufactured expeditiously and in quantities. A

Numerous methods and apparatus for manufacturing blocks or the like havebeen known heretofore but all of them `with which I amrfam iliar requirea large amount of apparatus for producing large quantities of blocksbecause the methods practiced are slow, particularly in the setting orcuring stage. It is an object of my i'nvention, therefore, to provide amethod of making blocks or the like characterized by quick operation. Afurther object is to provide a simple and relatively inexpensiveapparatus for practicing the method. e

In a preferred embodiment, the apparatus comprises a plurality ofbox-like liftable mold members including pallets or mold bottoms adaptedto cooperate successively with a relatively xed mold member having coresthereon. The two members have interftting portions p'rovidi'ng amultiplicity of individual molds when the liftable member is disposed`upon the fixed member.

When the mold members have been assembled and lled, they are subjectedto vibration. The

nature of the mix employed is such that theblocks are self-sustainingafter'vibration so that the liftable member may be raised immediately,bringing the blocks with it; It is then deposited in a suitablelocation,l preferably on a'stack of similar members; after which the topof the upper member is closed and steam admitted to` the curing chamberdefined by the stacked box-like mold members. After curing, the blocksare removed from the liftable frame members and the latter are thenready to be assembled again with the fixed member.

'I'he following detailed description of the apparatus and method refersto the accompanying drawings illustrating the aforementioned preferredembodiment and practice. lIn the drawings,

Fig. 1 is a plan view of the box-like liftable mold member;

Fig. 2 is a transverse section taken along the line II-II of Fig. 1;

Fig. 3 is a partial section taken along the line III-III of Fig. 1;

Fig. 4 is an elevation of a detail; y

Fig. 5 is a plan View of the relatively fixed mold member mounted on avibrator; e

Fig; is`a transverser sectional view taken through the assembledliftable and fixed mold ift p to facilitate unloading.-

members, along the plane of line II- II of Fig. l1 andvr*v1ofr'1g.5; Y.e I

Fig. 7 is a side elevation showing the liftabl mold members stacked toform curing chambers; and

Fig. 8 is a diagrammatic side elevationshovv'- ing the disposition ofthe lift'able mold `members Referring now in detail to the drawings, Ilprovide a box-like liftable mold member Ill and a' rel' atively fixedmold member Iladapted to be ase sembled together by lowering the formerover the latter to provide a gang mold having a multiplicity findividual molds. The member IIJ is composed of side walls I2 and endWalls I3 which may conveniently be I-beams. The side and end walls areconnected by gusset plateslll.v Intermediate cross walls vI5 extendbetween the side Walls I2 and are disposed 'in spaced relationtherealong. The cross' walls I5 may be secured to the side walls I2 byangles I6 or in 4any other convenient way. Pallets or mold bottoms I'Iare secured to opposite sides of the cross Walls I5 by bolts. I8. Asshown in Fig. 1, the pallets Il are arranged in pairs spaced along thelength of the walls I5. The pallets have' flanges through which thebolts I8 extend.` Slots I9 in the' flanges permit the pallets to beadjusted vertically f the walls I5. Pipe connections 2l) extend throughthe sidewalls l2. A layer of insulation' 2I is ap'' plied'to the sideand end walls. A compressible cushion strip'22l is applied 'to thebottom flanges of the beams forming the side and end walls" I2 and I3.Holes 23 at the ends of the side Walls are adapted to receive cranehooks as shown at 24.

The relatively xed mold member II comprises a pair of' spaced beams 25having transverse beams 26 secured thereto. The beams 25 are supportedon a vibrating table composed of beams 2'! and cross channels 28; Rotaryeccentrics 29 on the beams 27 cause vibration thereof which istransmitted tothe remainder of the xed mold member. The beams 2'! aremounted on springs 30 to permit vibration thereof.

The beamsv 26 support a grid 3ll formed' of plates Whichis adapted tocooperate with the cross walls I5 and pallets II of the liftable moldmember to denne a plurality of individual molds,

f The grid 3 I includes cross Walls l32 and end walls 33 extending at;right angles thereto. The ends of the end vwalls 33 associated withadjacent cross walls 32 are, spaced apartas at3rll to permit entry ofthe cross wallsnl 5 ofthe mold member I0. The cross walls 32 and endwalls 33,

furthermore, enter the spaces between the pallets on adjacent crosswalls I5 of the mold member I or the spaces between the pallets or theside and end walls I2 and I3 thereof. It will be apparent that when themold member I0 is lowered on the member II, as shown in Fig. 6, amultiplicity of individual molds will be provided, the side walls ofwhich are dened by the cross w-alls I5 and 32, the end walls 33 and thepallets Cores 35 are secured to the beams 26 in appropriate positions toform voids in the blocks molded in the individual molds.

In practicing the method of the invention, the individual molds are lledwith concrete as indicated at 36, after the liftable mold member IIJ hasbeen lowered over the iixed member II.

When the mold members have been so disposed, the pallets I1 rests on thebeams 26 and the end walls I3 of the liftable member I0 rest on thebeams 25. The filling of the molds may be accomplished in any convenientmanner, either by a bucket carried on an overhead crane or a travelinghopper moved along above the length of the gang mold. After the moldshave been filled, they are subjected to vibration to compact theconcrete in the individual molds. As already explained, the rotaryeccentrics 29 effect this vibration. Any suitable driving means may beprovided for the eccentrics. During vibration, the compressible strips22 serve to cushion the side and end Walls of the liftable member II).The pallets I1 rest directly on the beams 26, however, and are therebysubjected to the full effect of the vibration.

The amount of settling of the concrete to be expected on vibration ofthe molds depends on the nature of the aggregate, varying inversely withthe density of the latter. For this reason, the pallets I1 areadjustable vertically by means of the slots IB, so that the blocks aftervibration will have the desired height.

It is usually desirable to subject the tops of the molded blocks tocompression after vibration, as the'vibration tends to loosen the upperlayer of concrete in the individual molds. This may be accomplished byany convenient means not shown. I

VInstead of using a vibrating table to support the gang mold, I mayinstall eccentrics in a series along the bottom of the gang mold inorder to insure that the contents of all the individual molds will besubjected to the same amount of vibration regardless of whether it isthe first or the last to be poured. To this end. the beams 2S may bemounted for individual vibration.

After vibration and compression of the concrete, the liftable member IDwith the cross walls I5 and pallets I1 is raised from the iixed member II, bringing the molded blocks with it. The concretey mix is of suchcharacter that the blocks are self-supporting after vibration. The moldsare tapered to facilitate freeing the blocks therefrom. The liftablemember I (I is raised by a crane and is then transferred to a curingplatform 31 (Fig. 1). Here a plurality of `liftable members I0 are piledone on the other in stacks as shown at 38 and 39 over wells 4U. A steamline 4I is installed in the curing platform and extends into the wells40. After the stacks of liftable members have been built up to thedesired height, removable covers 42 are disposed on the topmember.Theside and end `walls of the liftable members, withthe covers 42, `formcuring chambers in which the mold-ed blocks are supported in spacedrelation so that steam admitted from below circulates therearound.Branch steam lines 43 are provided with detachable connections 44adapted to be connected to the pipes 20 extending from the liftablemembers I0 so that steam may be admitted directly into each member, ifdesired. The Wells 45 have drains 45 to carry away condensate.

With the arrangement illustrated, the curing may be accomplished in arelatively short time, i. e., about sixty minutes. At the end of thattime, the liftable members IU may be unloaded and again disposed on thexed member for a further molding operation. If the blocks are relativelylight in weight, they may be manually removed from the stacked liftablemembers and deposited on carriers 4B which may then be removed by craneto a storage space. It will be understood that each of the members I0 isremoved from the stack as it is unloaded.

v If the blocks are too heavy to permit them to be removed convenientlyfrom the members I0 while the latter are in horizontal position as shownin Fig. 7, the unloading may be greatly facilitated by swinging themovable members up on one edge as illustrated in Fig. 8, by means of acrane. The blocks slide down the pallets I1 to the lower side wall andmay then be easily removed by hand to a storage pile.

It will be apparent that the invention provides a method and apparatuswhereby the manufacture of concrete blocks or the like may be greatlyexpedited. Enough liftable members I0 are provided for each fixed memberII to permit continuous use of the latter. In other words, the liftablemembers I0 are disposed successively on the xed member and after fillingare removed to the curing platform. The time required for thus buildingup one of the stacks on the plat- 1 form will be approximately equal tothe time required `for curing and unloading a stack previously built up.In this way, a continuous movement of the liftable members from thevibrating table to the curing platform and back is maintained. Theinsulation around the sides and ends of the liftable mold membersprevents excessive loss of heat during curing. The compressible striparound the bottom of each liftable member serves as a gasket to seal thejoint between the members when stacked.

Although I have illustrated and described but a preferred embodiment andpractice of the invention, it will be recognized that changes in theconstruction and procedure disclosed may be made without departing fromthe spirit of the invention or the scope of the appended claims.

I claim:

'1. A gang mold comprising a liftable member including a series ofspaced, parallel partitions, and a series of pallets secured to each ofsaid partitions in spaced relation therealong, and a iixed memberincluding a series of spaced, parallel partitions each having a seriesof end walls extendingy laterally therefrom and spaced therealong, thepartitions being so positioned along said members that when the liftablemember is disposed on the fixed member the partitions of the twomembersv alternate with each other, and the partitions on the liftablemember fit between adjacent end walls.

2. Apparatus for making concrete articles of rectangular shapecomprising a plurality of groups of -vertical mold walls, each includinga sidewall and two end walls, and a removable mold wall forming theother side Wall for all said groups thereby dening a plurality ofindvidual molds, and pallets for said molds secured to said removablemold Wall.

3. Apparatus for making concrete articles as dened by claim 2characterized by said groups of vertical mold Walls being mounted on afixed member, and cores on said xed member extending upwardly within themolds dened by said walls.

4. Apparatus for making concrete articles as defined by claim 1, saidliftable member having outer side Walls defining a curing enclosure forarticles molded therein after it has been removed from the fixed member.

5. Apparatus as defined by claim 1 characterized by cores on said fixedmember extending through said pallets and a vibrating frame supportingsaid fixed member.

ALBERT HENDERSON.

